Thunderstar Acceptable Use Policy

For some time now I have been avoiding the issuance of a rules of conduct for online use on this network. This is largely, I think, not only due to my abhorance of regulations and control of a persons individual freedom of information and communication in general but also due to the fundamental idea that reason and sanity should allow users to conduct themselves in an upright and polite manner. "Laws" and "rules" tend to evolve only at the point where a persons personal integrity fails to evolve constructive self-governed behavior.

Up until now there in fact have been only those laid out in our account sign up contract which remain in force, however, sheer volume of new users coming online makes it necessary to lay down a few rules to make life easier.

Clearly the use of such codes are limited both in workability but in effectiveness to evolve a safe and sane activity and the evidence of today's decaying society is evidence of this fact. So first we really should be working towards governing behavior online (and offline for that matter). Having said that I am now issuing the following acceptable use guidelines for Thunderstar accounts and servers. This should be regarded as a general list of do's and don'ts. Please don't get mired up in the regulation and free speech issue (its old hat these days as we know where we're over the line and where we're not) as this is simply a guideline I am laying out to protect everyone (myself and Thunderstar notwithstanding) This is to ensure an overall safe online environment. These rules are here to protect the many well behaved users from the transgressions of the few. ;)

Thanks in advance for your understanding and adherence to all of this.

Thunderstar Official Online Policy

Always report known violations of server regs and acceptable use guidelines to the Webmaster. Such actions are rarely punitive in nature.

Do not engage in any activity that would generate large amounts of unnecessary server traffic such as bulk unsolicited mail, spamming, flaming (online fire fights),"E-Mail bombing" (filling users accounts up with useless E-mail) otherwise known as "denial of service attacks". Usually such attacks are targeting the user but we do from time to time see usually poor hack attempts directed on servers and other devices. These are well secured and not subject to such elements in actual fact. This activity simply ties up resources for everyone including oneself. Though we do have countermeasures in place limiting its damage and isolating the riff-raff it still never fails to annoy.

Do not engage in any activity that could be part of or lead to a crime being committed on or offline. Report any such violations to myself and your local authorities at once. (this includes information about criminal activities on or off line or anything that could endanger the well being of another person. Such actions are actionable under law and will be reported where observed. Should you observe such activities particularly on an on going basis the Webmaster and /or authorities need to be informed.

Do not do anything online that would be a violation of the law offline. The reason is obvious.

Do not engage in any activity that could lead to the upset or harm to another user. Specifically abuse of chat lines etc. This covers fighting, antagonism of an extreme nature "nuking", "E-mail bombing" or eliciting such actions in another, unwanted advances, "stalking", seduction or harassment of anyone, especially minors. Such online mashers are rare however criminals do make up a increasing percentage of our society due to the proliferation of drugs, psychiatry and violence in the media. Such institutions turn out criminals and perverts of an unthinkable nature on an alarming rate so were really not out of line in street-proofing our kids and ourselves against it.

Do not engage in, post or publish anything to a Thunderstar server that is of a pornographic or explicit or adult in nature. (obviously some gray areas may exist in such instances in which case send me an E-mail on the matter for recourse or any questions on this before any such item is posted) A general rule of thumb is if you wouldn't like it being read by your Mom in tomorrow's newspaper then you probably shouldn't post it or E-mail it without some sort of encryption protection such as an SSL (Secure web server) or pgp (pretty good protection - encryption) or something better.

Do not post anything to a Thunderstar server that is of an illegal nature or that could lead to a crime or suggest the idea of committing a crime or any other sort of posting that may lead to undesirable activity.

Do not Post or Distribute copy written material to a Thunderstar site or via a Thunderstar server or connection of any kind without the express written permission of the legal owner of such materials.

Do not post anything or distribute anything via a Thunderstar connection or across a Thunderstar network that in any way malign or attacks a minority, gender, race or any religion or religious belief of an individual or group.

Do not use timers, open polling mail clients, "open chat lines" or access agents that are not really in use or any other device to hold open a channel when your away from your system for an extended period of time or for th purpose of evading an inactivity timeout shutoff from the server. Such actions are the principal reasons for busy signals and this in fact is a violation of the service agreement and repeat offenders are and have been removed from this network for doing so when such actions are chronic and flagrant disregard for the rules is observed.

Do not engage in any unlawful or unwanted invasion of privacy of others online. This includes, any form of eavesdropping or "packet sniffing", "hacking" of an illegal or destructive type, illegal access or infiltration of private government or corporate computers or networks or any other illegal access to information. This is an obvious no no. Note that this is in fact theft and is punishable in a court of law. Note also: Hacking is a term that has been misused broadly and to understand more about what is meant here I strongly suggest a net search on the word. All hacking is not necessarily bad and has been misused by media types who themselves have no understanding of the subject and this is why the wording of this rule is as it is.

Do not engage in any form of unlawful money transfer, financial activity or "e-commerce" transactions of any kind that are in any way a dodge or rules concerning tax or otherwise unauthorized, particularly where this involves credit card information or online banking or stock transactions. Ensure such activities are well within the laws of the land and that no violations of a civil nature occur.

NEVER use someone else's credit card online without having them present and aware of what you are doing with full consent. to do otherwise is violation of civil law and punishable by jail term. It is in fact by definition Fraud and punishable is such in a court of law no matter how innocent the particular transaction might be.

Do not use your Thunderstar account for any purpose other than those you have stated and agreed to in coming online.

Do not knowingly transmit or transfer any program or virus that is in any way destructive to equipment information or a network or other user on Thunderstar or outside our domain. Such users have been found and prosecuted in the U.S. and is comparable to vandalism or possibly life threatening mischief.

Do not give out your actual physical location to anyone you do not know. And do not do so AT ALL if you are under the age of 18. This can open the door to unsavory types so be sure you know well whom you open the door for!

Do not use your Thunderstar account for the purposes of tracing tracking or stalking another person on or off the Internet. Such action is Illegal not only here but under the laws of the land here in Canada and in most other Countries of the world. We report such activities to authorities immediately with full particulars. Also such accounts are subject to immediate shutdown. Obviously the location or the search for lost acquaintances, or of a relative or friend does not fall under this rule. Such actions not being of harmful intent are not restricted. And where actual investigation is being done online by a bonifide party or licensed legal authority it is to be done only with the consent and knowledge of the Webmaster. This particular rule is unconditional for the protection of Thunderstar users and the company its self and authorization for such activities is at the discretion of the Webmaster ONLY and lies in his sole realm for adjudication.

Do not use any Thunderstar connection or server for the purpose of planning or transmitting of information that could lead to a violent or illegal act.

Do not pretend to be, impersonate, or tell anyone you are someone other than who you are or that you are a different age or sex other than who you are for the purposes of procuring or making contact with that individual on a chat line, E-mail, net pager or any variation of this.

Children and teens are to be supervised when accessing the net and parents should be advised that they should "street proof" or "Net proof" their children so as to avoid them being contacted by any other unwanted person or user, much in the same way you would instruct him to behave on the street or in a park. Obviously this is at the discretion of the parents however it is something that every parent should be aware of and prepare the child for. Parents who do not supervise or care for children are culpable under the law and this also applies online so we add it here to our server regulations. Many systems of supervision, starting with laying down of rules and do's and don'ts for a child and ENFORCING them when violated is always a wise idea and though this is the business of the parent, we require that parents agree to do so in a manner THEY see fit. It is, in fact, the legal responsibility of a parent to do so under the law of the land and the Thunderstar user account contract as well as this policy.

Should it occur to a user to do so, do not engage anyone below the age of consent in a chat line or other online or electronic activity in a sexual, erotic fantasy, or violent experience of any kind online and do not encourage such a user to meet you or contact you via phone for any reason, this clearly being an illegal activity and has been punished by jail term in some places. In any event such activities are forbidden on this network.

Where a site or posting on a Thunderstar server may be in violation of these rules and regs always bring it to the attention of the Webmaster.

Where a site or posting appears to be harmful (but possibly lawful none the less) always bring the site and its address to the attention of the Webmaster. Note this would also cover sites that promote heavy or inappropriate use of legal drugs or and use of weapons, illegal drugs or alcohol or any other controlled substance, irresponsible practices, psychiatric spin offs, perversions of the education system, (for example sites promoting the drugging in schools of children) etc... Such sites will be reviewed for removal under this policy

Note: It is acknowledged that these restrictions, however slight they may be extend beyond the law of the land and are in fact private rules laid down by Thunderstar Communications and govern anyone using a Thunderstar domain, Thunderstar equipment or Thunderstar's registered IP addresses. We do apologize for any hardship or discomfort this may cause but we do expect the vast majority of users to support the purpose of such initiatives though, Thunderstar not being a "democracy" as no Internet service actually is (by definition) we understand some may feel restricted and we apologize where this may offend, having no intention to do so.

Important: Where pornographic or other illegal or unsavory types of material may be found please also be advised that the immediate shut down rule in our user contract is still in place. This is an industry wide rule with upstream providers and should you become aware of one on a Thunderstar address please make it known to the Webmaster along with its URL immediately for disposal. My recent need to remove one such account is what actually prompted me to issue this set of guidelines.

More server rules will undoubtedly be added from time to time as necessity permits. Due to Thunderstar's fast expansion I am issuing these laws now so as to avoid the unpleasentries of government intervention if ISPs and access providers fail to take their responsibility seriously in governing their networks. I hope in doing so we can pre-emptivly dispose of such activities and individuals who would abuse our services before it is allowed to occur. The purpose of all of this, aside from deterring the unwanted and outright dangerous, is to protect our rights from being eroded by various unsavory government types (who would just love to get their hooks into the Internet) and the best way to ensure this is is to govern ourselves. More over the very small handful of criminals perverts, drug dealers, and the products of various psychiatric spin offs will tend to pray on normal folk unless restrained. And though these individuals, as they undoubtedly will whine, have rights too, BUT! Their "rights" do not extend into allowing them access to the more fortunate majority of folk in a way that could be compromising, the protection of whom this document is intended. It really otherwise is none of anyone's business what users do or don't do online. But to keep things afloat I find it necessary to place these few restrictions in place at this time.

As some items that may violate these rules may, unbeknownst to ourselves, already be online in user accounts please be advised that these laws are retro-active however please understand also that it is not our intent to chase customers away but to attract them through the discouragement, elimination or termination of such activities where they might exist. And in spirit we wont be asking for any drastic changes except in the most extreme of cases. I am always available at webmaster@thunderstar.net should you have anything to report or have any questions.